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robteix

2,446 karma · joined March 10, 2009

[ my public key: https://keybase.io/rselbach; my proof: https://keybase.io/rselbach/sigs/U6IsJ23rNj1o1gHKtyJGKZjFvdPQCzdAZpuc6VrGvsE ]
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robteix··on IBM Bob
It's been a while since Sonnet 4.5 could be considered frontier :D
robteix··on iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max
Honest question: why though? If someone uses a language other than English on their phone, the feature is quite literally useless to them, isn't it? I don't get why they're "self centered" for saying so.

I think it's quite telling that one of the main new features of the new iPhones won't even be available until next year for most of the world.

robteix··on Mozilla to put ads in Firefox address bar suggestions
I’d love to be able to stick to Safari. It’s an awesome browser, except that not having any form of multi-profile support makes it impossible for me to use. It’s really its only showstopper for me.
robteix··on Firefox Lost Almost 50M Users: Here’s Why It Is Concerning
For me it was performance on my mac (esp. YouTube) and having to constantly switch browsers to use some specific sites I need that don't work on Firefox.
robteix··on My small revenge on Apple
I'm confused about the "revenge" aspect of this. Seems like you're doing what Apple is asking you to do -- implementing Apple Sign-In -- and then going the extra mile to make sure your users have a worse experience than they should otherwise have. How is that revenge on Apple?
robteix··on Facebook is pushing back on Apple’s new iPhone privacy rules
> Apple some time ago recognized that they won't be able to compete on software with other BigTech giants so they are building an environment where certain software advancements are crippled. User activity data will be important to tune algorithms for maximum utility and by restricting access to user data for others, Apple wants to give itself the best shot to stay in the game.

That seems off to me. Apple isn't crippling anything, they're giving their users the choice of opting in/out of tracking. If, as you say, choosing not being tracked makes the users' experiences so bad, they can simply opt-in and all will be good again. What am I missing?

robteix··on Judge in Google case disturbed that 'incognito' users are tracked
> It doesn't seem like the complaint is that Chrome collects data on you in "Incognito" mode, rather that websites (e.g. Google Analytics) still collect on you in "Incognito" mode.

Isn't that a distinction without a difference though? It's not Chrome, it's Google Analytics. It's all Google in the end, isn't it?

robteix··on TikTok: All under-16s' accounts made private
Such a different experience. I keep telling everyone how Tik Tok is the most positive social media experience. All I see is people dancing and comedy sketches. My wife sees some more "mom" jokes, but still the same overall feel.

I've never seen anything like what you're describing. Amazing how the algorithm can make experiences completely different.

robteix··on Tesla Mania vs. Economic Reality
Apparently many are. Tesla is the most shorted stock in the US, apparently[0]

[0] https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/tesla-stock-...

robteix··on Facebook's attempt to vilify Apple looks like sour grapes
None of this is hidden though. We have the absolute choice of not using Apple products. Simple. None of this seems relevant to the discussion at hand either. We can definitely disagree with two companies at the same time.

Facebook is objecting to allowing people to know that they're being tracked everywhere by them. Lots of people don't really understand how that works. I think this is a good thing Apple is doing in this particular case.

robteix··on Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and the Unfortunate Implications
> French Canada doesn't like the rest of Canada and vise versa.

Please stop these generalizations that are borderline racist. I personally have nothing against the English, for example. If you hate us so much, that's on you.

Go watch, say, The Last Kingdom on Netflix. It wasn't made by Ubisoft or French Canadians. And yet the depiction of English vs Danes is pretty much the same: the cowardly christians with their silly religion. That's the POV of one character. It is flawed as well. But it has nothing to do with French Canadians, come on.

> I'm just saying that given their cultural baggage (as a group) this is likely to a blind spot where they're less likely to notice.

I'm sorry but you seem to be showing your own "cultural baggage" here and projecting it onto others.

robteix··on Cameras and secret trackers reveal where Amazon returns end up
Agreed. I've tried many times to give other retailers a chance but they always screw up while Amazon Canada has yet to do so.
robteix··on Uber is laying off 3,700, as rides plummet due to Covid-19
Sales, marketing, legal in every market they operate in. Remember they don't have to deal only with different countries, but different states and municipalities in each of them, each with their own laws and ordnances and lobbying needs.
robteix··on Which of these Amazon Prime purchases are real?
Super fast and cheap shipping is a big deal. Easy returns.

I have several issues with Amazon the company, but any time I buy something only from any other vendor I'm reminded of what makes Amazon different.

robteix··on Off-Facebook activity
Literally the first result in the list of companies that shared data about me with FB is my pharmacy. My pharmacy! That's just... wrong.
robteix··on CBP and ICE DNA Collection [pdf]
Effective January 6, 2020, CBP will begin collecting DNA from any person in CBP custody who is subject to fingerprinting. This will include aliens as well as United States citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (U.S. Persons).
robteix··on "Google Stadia is not a product that exists because people want it"
Can please you calm down? You've been spamming this discussion while getting increasingly hostile. We get it, you don't think people should play as much videogames as they do. Good, we get it.
robteix··on Grise Fiord, Canada's most northerly community
Not better. I live in Quebec City. When we get anything under -30C, my iPhone XS battery dies in a matter of seconds once out of a pocket.
robteix··on The end of uBlock origin for Google Chrome?
I really like Safari. Underrated browser. Unfortunately it lacks one feature that _to me_ is a dealbreaker: a way to have multiple identities/profiles.
robteix··on My Talk at Microsoft
> There are those who think that Microsoft invited me to speak in the hope of seducing me away from the free software cause.

> Others assert that inviting me was opposition research and nothing more.

Honestly, why would Microsoft in 2019 even need to either convince RMS to give up free software or to research him at all?

robteix··on The Most Intolerant Wins: The Dictatorship of the Small Minority (2015)
It seems to me that the minority can dictate things that are inconsequential to the majority.

Take the halal example: as the author says, the kosher eater won't eat non-halal food, but non-kosher eaters don't mind eating halal. If it wasn't so, I don't think a Kosher minority would be able to impose anything.

Seems like the author is picking and choosing examples.

robteix··on US Visa Forms DS-160, 260 Has Social Media Questions Now – Samples
What happens when you lose an account now? Or if you close an account on a service that doesn't reserve usernames (e.g. Twitter)? All of a sudden someone is using "yourname" on twitter to say something the US immigration officers don't like. That's not far fetched at all
robteix··on A personal story about 10× development
I don't think anyone doubts that outliers exist. That is obvious and true in any profession.

It's more about what a "10X" is. If someone comes up with "10X developers use black background and their x key is more worn out than the e key," I think it's not unreasonable to question that.

Also the question of whether someone who's able to spit out great code really fast but is incapable of testing, documenting, or architecting something is indeed "10X".

So the question is not "do outliers exist?" but "what qualities do outliers exhibit?"

robteix··on How to Find Hidden Cameras in Your Airbnb
unfortunately people list units where it's not allowed as well.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marketplace-airbnb-covert-l...

robteix··on Libra, 2 Weeks In
Currency names are not unique. How many countries use "dollar" or "peso"? Portuguese-speakers don't seem to have a problem with that, so I'm sure they will somehow find a way to deal with two "libras"
robteix··on Amazon to Uber: From the lens of a software engineer
> I really got the impression they didn’t even look at the code or execute it to see if I achieved success or followed instructions. Felt like they were just wasting my time.

I don't know anything about where you interviewed and of course this may not at all be true for them, but bear in mind that the point of home assignments is rarely "does it work?" That the candidate followed instructions and that the project "works" is expected. What many companies are looking for is seeing how you document, how you organize, how you test.

Again, I don't know what happened in your specific case. Just a heads up that writing tests, documenting and writing good commit messages are usually what people look at first when evaluating a home assignment.

robteix··on Microsoft developer reveals Linux is now more used on Azure than Windows Server
Even if they would, they couldn't do with Linux what Apple did with BSD because the licensing situation is different: BSD allowed them to develop a proprietary OS, GPL doesn't.
robteix··on Quebec's National Assembly continues, focus shifts to religious symbols bill
I don’t think the part about being very Catholic and very French* is true at all. Churches are dying all over the province.

But you’re right in that the Quebec outside of Montreal is _very_ different. Much more conservative.

* Unless by that you mean they speak French, which is very much true. But calling quebecers “French” is akin to calling Americans “British”. They’re not the same at all despite a common language.

robteix··on An update on last week's customer shutdown incident
From what I understand, they’re not saying you’re not allowed to use 100% for (what their user agreements define as) legitimate uses. They’re saying several droplets suddenly created and immediately going to 100% flags them as suspicious activity for human review. Looks like after such review, they would flag them as legitimate and all would be fine, 100% CPU or not.

They’ve botched that second step though.

robteix··on Facebook Asking for Some New Users' Email Passwords
I mostly agree but don’t underestimate the effect that drinking the kool-aid can have on your ability to tell if something is wrong or not.

I’ve worked in these megacorps and I understand how easy is to believe everything they do is awesome.

“We’re just doing it to make it easier for our users” or “we’re Facebook, we know how to securely handle their passwords”

It’s very easy to _believe_ these things when you’re in the inside being showered with money and being told how amazing you are all the time.

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